Cooper Connolly has been drafted into Australia’s Champions Trophy squad as a replacement for opener Matt short, who has been ruled out of the tournament with a quad injury suffered during Australia’s clash against Afghanistan. Connolly, who was included in Australia’s CT squad following ICC's Event Technical Committee’s approval, had initially been named as a travelling reserve for the tournament.
Connolly has played three ODIs for the side and he made his ODI debut in England last year. Matt Short, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable during Australia’s match against Afghanistan, which was washed out due to relentless rain. He had scored 20 off 15 before falling to Azmatullah Omarzai.
Australia also have another spare opener in Jake Fraser-McGurk, who is the replacement for Marsh but he has faced difficulty in tackling new ball. He also doesn’t come with bowling option like Connolly. Meanwhile, it only remains to be seen as to who Australia include in their playing XI.
Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Adam Zampa, Cooper Connolly.